Ask The Cat Lady!

Sally Bahner is a member of the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants and has a private feline consulting practice. She is the "Dear Sally" on Tracie Hotchner’s Cat Chat Radio (www.catchatradio.com), found on Sirius, the Martha Stewart Living channel. She is a longtime editor and writer on everything feline.

Q: Dear Sally,
I adopted my first cat, Poppy, a few months ago and she has become the love of my life. She’s about 6 months old and she’s going into heat. I hate to put her through that surgery. I’m so afraid something will happen to her. She’s an inside-only cat, so there isn’t any chance of her getting pregnant. Am I doing the right thing?
Christina
A: Dear Christina,
No! Getting her spayed is doing the right thing. Unless they’re in a planned breeding program (something that’s not for the average cat owner), all cats should be spayed or neutered. She will keep cycling until she gets pregnant and that can happen in a heartbeat if she escapes. And she will make every attempt to escape, especially once the neighborhood toms realize what’s happening. As you might be already seeing, she will feel miserable, constantly calling, treading with her fanny up in the air and marking anything and everything. Long-term, the effects are more serious: she could get mammary cancer, which is almost always a death sentence.
People often say that they let their female have just one litter so their kids can see the "miracle of birth." It’s only a miracle if all the kittens get placed in loving homes.
Young cats bounce back quickly from spay surgery. Call your veterinarian for an appointment today. You’ll both be much happier.
Sally
 

Guinea Pig Expert!

Whitney Potsus has owned guinea pigs for nearly a decade. She is Vice President of The Critter Connection, Inc., a Durham-based non-profit dedicated to the rescue and rehabilitation of abandoned and neglected guinea pigs. You can find the rescue on the Web at www.ctguineapigrescue.org. Please direct all your Guinea Pig questions to Whitney.

Q: Hi Whitney,
I have a bunny already and she could use a friend. I was considering a bun-mate, but wondered also about guinea pigs.
Thanks, Jordan
A: Jordan,
If you want a live-in companion for a rabbit, contact the local rabbit rescues and work with them to find someone on their adoptable lists whose temperament is a good match for the bunny you have. There are several rabbit rescues in the Connecticut/Massachusetts/Rhode Island area, including: 3Bunnies, Rabbit Allies of CT, House Rabbit Connection, Hop-a-long Hollow, and Sweet Binks. Depending upon where you live in Connecticut, at least one of these rescues is bound to be within an easy driving distance from your house.
If you like both rabbits and guinea pigs and want to have both in your home, they make good neighbors for each other — as long as they have separate cages and play areas, and as long as the rabbit can't leap into the guinea pigs' domain.
Rabbits and guinea pigs are poorly suited live-in companions for each other, for several reasons:
1. Rabbits’ hind legs, which they do get feisty with, can seriously injure a guinea pig.
2. Rabbits and guinea pigs need different food pellets, which are carefully formulated for each species' unique dietary needs.
3. Rabbits have big appetites, which leads them to hog the food and leave the guinea pig underfed and thin.
4. Rabbits can digest some veggies and fruits easily that guinea pigs cannot. Although there are many things both species can eat, if you have the critters in the same cage, there’s no way to separate servings of any kind of food.
I've heard numerous stories of deeply bonded inter-species relationships — dogs and bunnies, cats and ferrets, cats and guinea pigs, and so on. But for all species — human and animal — nothing ever truly matches the companionship found with someone of our own species. Great camaraderie and comfort comes from being with someone who "speaks the same language" — whether the language be "rabbit," "guinea pig," "bird," "human," or something else.
Good luck in your search! Whitney
 

Reptile Man!

Ron Wulff, the Reptile Man, has worked for one of the big retail pet stores for 6 years as a reptile and aquatic specialist. He rescues reptiles and runs www.nopaws.com, dedicating his time to educate people on exotic pets. Direct your exotic pet questions to Reptile Man.

Q: Hi Ron,
What is a good reptile to get as a pet for older children, who have a great interest in all reptiles?
Gary
A: Gary,
One of my favorite lizards and one on the easiest reptiles to care for is the New Caledonian Crested Gecko.
They were once thought to be almost extinct until a new population was discovered on New Caledonia and a couple of the neighboring islands.  They were brought to the United States in the 90's and a captive breeding program was started.  The animals available now as pets have all been bred in captivity.
Crested Geckos (also called eyelash geckos for the row of little spikes above their eyes that resemble eye lashes) are arboreal lizards that spend most of the time above the ground.  The babies that are sold range from two to three inches and grow to between five and six inches long, not including the tail.  They have adhesive lamella pads on their finger tips and on the tip of the tail that allow it to cling to any surface.  They need a tall tank with a secure cover to avoid escapes.  They have minimal heating requirements compared to most other reptiles.  They can be kept between 75 and 80 degrees with no UVB requirements.  They are a tropical lizard and do well in glass tanks that have doors that open in the front.  They need to be sprayed down at least once a day to maintain humidity. After the misting you can watch the lizard lick the water drops off of its head and eyes. I keep several young crested with a red eyed tree frog in one of those tanks, with a live plant and grass growing in the substrate.  I keep an adult Crested Gecko with larger white tree frogs.
Handling them is usually possible if you’re careful.  I love to photograph them and will take them out for photo sessions.  They can jump, but not too far.  If you let them walk on your hand they may just settle down.  If they get nervous and move too fast on your hand, put your other hand where the lizard can see it, just a few inches from the hand it is on, giving it an "escape route".  You can let it jump back and forth between hands until it is convinced there is no danger.
Feeding is another interesting part of the deal with this lizard.  I still offer crickets to my Crested Geckos because they live with other animals that eat crickets.  Crested Geckos will also eat fruit baby food and a commercial Crested Gecko formula (or a mixture of the two).  Some people have raised these lizards on an all fruit diet.  I am not ready to try that yet, but if you really, really hate crickets, it might be worth a shot.
Ron